Party 2006

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Commissioner Patty Concludes 2006 RBVL Season

By Joe McGivney

The Rockaway Beach Volleyball League concluded the 2006 season with their annual Awards Dinneron Friday 9/15 at the Beach Club with 180 players eager to party the night away. What a treat it was to walk into the Beach Club and see the new RBVL banners flying. And what a surprise to be greeted by the Abbracciamento’s 1991 team poster, which was dug out of the photo archives. The pictures were taken at least a hundred pounds and three Afro’s ago. A rocking good time was had by all, aided by the music of Souled Out, who played their second consecutive RBVL party. Good food and cold beer (Thanks, Gabrielle) is the usual formula for a fun time with this group and once again it proved successful. Thanks to Theresa and her staff who helped make the night so pleasant. Thanks to Rocky and Bugsy who toiled many hours, working on the details of the extravaganza. Thanks to all of those captains who organized their teammates and collected deposits. Your work is invaluable.

Championship sweatshirts were presented to the division winners and will be worn proudly by:

Ocean Division – Freedhand’s Court Champs (Richie Whelan)

Wave Division – Killa Hills (Brian Sica)

Beach Division – Connolly’s (Steve Gifford)

Boardwalk Division – Coppersmith’s

Sun Division – Sand Spikers

Moon Division – Suns of Beaches (Kevin Gifford)

Amidst the team presentations, individual awards were given out as well but none had anything to do with volleyball skills or ability. First up was an award to Kevin Gifford, who was thought to be the only Rockaway resident on his squad. He was given 2 tokens for the Marine Pkwy. Bridge and 2 NYC subway tokens so that he could visit his teammates on the mainland. Then the rest of his team was given Rockaway Real Estate literature and told to start looking for homes to buy. The next award went to Laura Pfister, formerly known as the girl in the white headband with the sweaty armpits. For winning the annual “Adult Musical Chairs” competition at the BHYC Laura was presented with a lovely trophy and for future under arm protection she was given a bar of “Mennen Musk Speed Stick” deodorant. Her smiling face told you all you needed to know about the good-natured ribbing and sportsmanship that makes the RBVL people so special.

A variety of terrific Hawaiian shirts showed up again this year but the two finest belonged to Steve Gifford and Seal Moore. The judges voted each a prize, Steve for his more outrageous flame red shirt, Seal for his stylish blue “bowling shirt” edition. Seal also gained valuable style points by wearing his RBVL gold tank top underneath. (Rumor has it that Steve ran home during intermission to put his tank top on but the judges would not give him additional style points.) Murph looked lovely with his vertical striped dress shirt, simple and elegant, a veritable chick magnet but not lovely enough for an award. Kevin and Mary Begley once again led the charge onto the dance floor only to be followed by the entire league, including Rocky Travolta. The top attendance team at the party was the Brooklyn Transplants/Jameson's Turtles conglomerate who checked in with 20 members but the best solo effort went to A Night Out’s 19 troopers. As usual, only a handful of Ocean Division players showed up but the champs, Freedhand’s nearly had perfect attendance. Great job, guys! If you are wondering why TBG showed up promptly for the second year in a row, Cement Shoes successfully enticed him out of the house after finishing a bottle of Jack Daniels. Bobby Fash’s handstands and Sue Brown’s cartwheels were nowhere to be found but maybe they’ll reappear if the awards dinner returns to the Knights of Columbus next year. Did DB perform any back flips? Is her streak alive?

It's a little early but you can already mark your calendars for 2007. Our practice week is set for 5/23/07 and opening day will be Wednesday 5/30/07. If you are making long range plans, expect rain on those two dates. (We’ll see the captains in the winter, as we begin planning for next season. If your e-mail address changes, please let us know.) A grateful nod must go to all of the sponsors of our 46 teams. Without their financial support the league might very well not exist. A special thanks goes out to the sponsors who hosted the Wednesday night parties after the matches: the Blarney Castle, Jameson’s, Irish Circle, Kerry Hills, the Harbor Light, Connolly’s, the Sugar Bowl, the Bayview, Pier 92, Grassy Point Grill and BHYC. All provided a great atmosphere for players to unwind after a pressure-filled night of beach volleyball. 2006 was a terrific season in spite of inclement weather on what seemed like every Wednesday night. Special thanks go out to Commissioner Patty Moule and her hard-working committee members, as well as anyone who volunteered for jobs along the way. Your help, even with the smallest items, was much appreciated.

Commissioner Patty concludes the 2006 season with her traditional final thoughts: “To all RBVL Players, Friends, Family and Future RBVL Players - - - Each year as the RBVL season officially ends I try to put into words just how much this league means to me. It is very special to me for so many reasons. This year, at many our numerous post game parties, I spent a lot of time reminiscing with fellow veteran RBVL players about the "simple" early days of the league. I found Dickie Ferrin to have the best memory as to specifics of those early days. How does he do it? Ginko, Balboa or Green Tea? Inquiring minds want to know! Anyway, sometime around 1988 or 1989, eight teams met each week at Beach 108^th St. for some VB. This was organized by The Fab Four- Nancy Gentile, Sue Brown, Bobby Fash and Jimmy Mack. When the games ended, we'd head over to the RainTower, order a bunch of pizza pies from downstairs and have a good ol' time! We still have a good ol' time- it's just a little more complicated with 46 teams involved. As I enjoyed the awards party the other night with my "Right Hand Man" Joe we realized it's a new wave of players to get to know and to hang out with. There were many veteran players but there were far many new teams present. It’s unbelievable how much energy they bring to the league! The new players represent all ages from their teens to their 40's or 50's. Age doesn’t matter but the enthusiasm they bring does. That’s what keeps the RBVL alive. THANK YOU. Each year I like to thank the special people who make up the committee who runs this league so well. They are: Denise Brunner, Rocky Dorogoff, Steve Gifford, Bugsy Goldberg, Joe McGivney and John Sica. I have to list them alphabetically because each one of them has an important role in making this league work so well. With their efforts, it almost runs its self. Words can't express how thankful I am to each and every one of you. THANK YOU. We wouldn't be such a fun, party league without all of our wonderful sponsors. And what would we be like without our colorful group of referees? They not only know VB, they also come with great personalities. They also put up with a lot of grief from overzealous players- THANK YOU. I just wanted to end by saying thank you to everyone who lent a helping hand or a compliment when we needed it or "constructive" criticism when warranted. The one thing I heard from many players in each division is that some people are taking the games way too seriously. If you start feeling that way, look at the ocean or the beautiful sunset or just the great people around you and, as Stevie Kearns always reminds me, "Breathe, Patty, breathe." Enjoy the off-season. Love, Patty.”

See you on the beach in the summer of 2007! (Or maybe if we ever have the first RBVL Christmas party this winter.) Check the website at www.rbvl.com or the Wave next week for pictures from the awards dinner.